Since the ball dropped on New Year’s Day, people have been trying to keep their resolutions. Whether that is quitting smoking, losing weight, or just improving quality of life, keeping up with resolutions can be a challenge. Another common resolution is to get out of debt, and 2014 could be the year for it.

The first step to tackling debt is to list all outstanding balances. Include everything that you might owe for your mortgage, student loans, auto loans, credit card bills, or other bills. It is also important to include the interest rates on these bills so that the most expensive debts are dealt with first.

The next step is to track your spending. Using a year’s worth of bank statements and credit card statements, find out what you spend each month. This will let you see which expenses are necessary and which are not. Use this as a starting point in creating a budget that you can live with, and stick to it. That will allow you to trim any wasteful spending and reallocate those funds to getting rid of debt quickly.

While fun activities may be difficult to cut out, they should be the last thing to budget for. Remember that credit cards are not free money, you will have to pay them off and you will be charged interest on any outstanding balance every month. Celebrate your success when you reach milestones so that you will stay motivated to see your plan to the end.

If you have tried all these steps and still cannot get ahead, then it is time for plan B. Maybe you have lost your job, or experienced an expensive illness or injury, or other unexpected event that makes it difficult to get out of debt. Filing for bankruptcy can let you start over financially. Contact an experienced bankruptcy attorney in San Antonio to review your finances today and make this year the one where you get out of debt.